Method and apparatus for trimming a continuous moving strip to a fixed width



Nov. 3, 1959 R. J. ERSKINE 2,911,044

I METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRIMMING A CONTINUOUS MOVING STRIP To A FIXED WIDTH 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 23, 1955 mm mm 2 my Km In I IHIl III I.

mm mm INVENTOR Robert J. Erskine METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRIMMING A CONTINUOUS MOVING STRIP TO A FIXED WIDTH Filed Sept. 23, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 3, 1959 R. .1. ERSKINE 2,911,044

Fig.3.

INVENTOR Robert J. Erskine Nov. 3, 1959 R. J. ERSKINE 2,911,044

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRIMMING A CONTINUOUS MOVING STRIP TO A FIXED WIDTH 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 23, 1955 Fig.4.

I Q \I INVENTOR Robert J. Erskine zmom Nov. 3, 1959 R. J. ERSKINE 2,911,044

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRIMMING A'CONTINUOUS MOVING STRIP TO A FIXED WIDTH 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 23. 1955 INVENTOR Robefl J. Erskine Nov. 3, 1959 R. J. ERSKINE 2,911,044

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRIMMING A. CONTINUOUS MOVING STRIP TO A FIXED WIDTH Filed Sept. 25, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 lNVENTOR Robert J. Erskine I United. States Patent through a continuous" strip processing line.

Heretofore,.ithas-heen customary, when passing strip into a treatmentline, to cut the edges so" that the strip will be of precise width and will have any imperfections i in the edges cut off. Such strip is'commonly delivered to the line in coils'of great length and displays some amount of camber; That is to' say, if the coil were unrolled upon a flat Surface to form a ribbon, the ribbon would not have ahsolutely straight edges, but would have edges with a; greater'or lesser degree ot'curvature. As laid out on' the hat s'urface;, the strip will usually appear as a curved or sepentine ribbon. Heretofore, it has been customary when such strip is being cut to width to feed the advancing; strip through a pair of cutters or' side trimmers which will cut it" to precise width; The side trimmers are adjusted to take a small cut off each edge of the strip; Since the'amount trimmed oit will desirablybe as small as possible to minimize scrap losses-,the strip after trimming. will still have the camber which it had before trimming; It hashe'encustomary to place such: cutters or'side trimmersin fixed position and to. pass the advancing strip through abridle or guideof some sort; Thestripis-gathered irr a freehanging loop ahead of the-cutting means and the slack; in? the: loop is guidedby the Bridle into proper alignment with the: cutting" means. Thus even thoughcamoen'of the strip tendsto cause the strip to move sidewardlywith respect to the: cutting means, the bridle or guide: means will: feed the adir-anc'ing strip centrally between thecutting means.

I provide cutting means transversely movable relativeto the a xis of travel ofithe: strip: It preferably provide a carriage arranged ahlyprov-idei means: tcncause: automatic transverse move- 114E111? of; the cnttingcmeansto keep-them' in central align mentwith the: stripe l.-.furtheripreferablys provide guide means between" cutting. means forming; at strip confining surface;

Other: details, objects, and advantages invention.

will; become more; apparentirom. the 1 fiollowingL detailed description of a present preferred embodimentthereot'. and 0t a presentpreterred methocl.ofpracticing. the same.

In the? accompanyingdrawings. I; haveillustrated a present preferred embodimentofmy invention 1n WhlCh Fig-ure lv is a side. elevational. viewota base-and: carriagetnponwhicha pair. of side trimmers are mounted Figure 7"is aside elevationalview of the' nide means" shown in Figure 6;

for raiprocating; movement upon. which the cutting: means are :mounted; I. furtherv prefen cuttinged'gesfof the respective pairs of g k The amount of overlap and the 2,91 1,044 Patented Nov. 3', 195 9 "ice.

Figure 8"isa sectional view taken along line ef'Figure 4;

Figure 9 is a sectional" view taken along line IX-IX of Figure 6; I

Figure 10is a side elevational view of one of the side trimmers showing'; the upper and lower .guide' means in section; and A I i Figure is a view showing the carriage and side trimmers in position in a continuous processing" line;

Referring now to Figure" ll, strip 1 is shown passing through the part of a continuous strip processing line which includes side trimming apparatus. The strip passes from" a preceding part of the line, under a'defi'ect'orf roli 2', through. side trimming apparatus included generally at It, and passes to further portionsof the treatment line at 4: Tension is maintained on the strip throughout the line and it passes continuously through the apparatus. The tension" on the strip ma-intains it taut over various deflector rolls 5 which guide it to and from the side trimming apparatus 3 Scrap from theedge'of the strip will fall into a; scrap chute 6 where it may be bundled and carried away;-

Reterringmow toFigures- 1 2 and 3, a base 7- is securely mounted to a; foundation. Carriage 8 is mounted for reciprocation; upon: base 7". Shoes 9 are fo'rm'ed on the lower part of the? carriage and have bearing pl'ate's 10 attached to' them Bearing: plates 10 are in sliding'contact with hearing. plates 1 1: fixed to base 7'. Guides 12 restrain. themotion of. the carriage and allow it to move solely in a direction transverse to the axis? of. strip' ti'ave'l. A double-acting hydraulic piston 13-- is mounted upon base 'i and its piston rod 1:4 isconnected to carriage 8 through aclevis? 15 Side trimmers 16 and 17,. which may be of conven= tiona'l design-, are mounted upon: carriage 8. They rest; uponand are ins-liding contact with slides 18 which form undercut channels 19. A T-bolt 20 is attached to'each corner of eachsidetrimmer and rides within: oneof the channels. 19, thus: allowing only lateral move-= ment ofi the -sidetrimmersrelativetocarriage 8. Ashaft 21 is. mounted in bearings 22, 23 and 24 located on-the upper surface of'carriage 8. It-has threaded'screws' 25 and-26whichmatch-internal threads in blocks 27 and-28 Blocks- 27' and 28* areaffixed to side respectiveiy. trimmers 16 and. 117 respectively. The threaded screws! 25* and26 arev cut with. opposite threads to one another.- Inother. words, one thread. is a left-hand thread and the other is .a right-hand thread. Shaft 21 is driven by motor 2-9- through. gearbox 30 and endless chain: 31.

Side trimmer 16 carries anv upper. knife 32 and alower knife 33 (=Fig'ures5'and 7'). In like manner, side trimmer 11 carries. an upper knife. 34 and a. lower knife 35. The

as. indicated. .at O.

amount of clearance may be appropriately. varied through adjustment of the knives by means well-known. to' those skilled in theart. A slotted shaft 36 is mounted in bearings. 37' and 38" afiixed to carriage throughv the housings of side trimmers 1'6 and driven by motor 39 ind-icated' b'y a generator from gearbox 40 through of each side trimmer are 17. It is.

Bolts 44" extendfthrough' holes drilled in the extending" arms of angle brackets 43 and are threaded into holes tapped" into bracket 45 (Figure t0). Slots 46 accommodate studs 47 protruding from the housing of side trimmer 17 and serve to maintain bracket 45 in alignknives overlapi 8 and extends through gearbox" 40'. Its speed is' tachometer 41- which is driven endless chain 42a. The knives driven. by a hollow gear in each" side trimmer housing. siidably mounted on shaft 36- and" ment with the housing of side trimmer 17. An upper guide support member 49 has two pins 48 protruding from its lower side. Holes 50 drilled in bracket 45 correspond in position to and receive the protruding pins 48. In a similar manner, upper guide support member 51 is supported from the housing of side trimmer 16 by bracket 52. Bracket 52 is in turn suspended from and aligned with the housing of side trimmer 16 similarly to the mounting of bracket 45 on side trimmer 17. Anextension 53 on upper guide support member .51 (Figures 4 and 8) is slotted to form a track 530:. The lower face of upper guide support member 51 is faced with a brass liner 54.. Upper guide support member 49 is similar in detail to upper guide support member 51 and carries an extension 55 slotted to form a track 55a. It is likewise faced with a brass liner. An upper central guide member 56 is located between upper guide support members 49 and 51 and has bronze wear strips 57 and 58 fitting within the tracks 53a and 55a, respectively. The lower surface of upper central guide member 56 is faced with a brass liner 59 having an upturned edge 60.

Angle brackets 61 and 62, attached to the housing of side trimmer 17, support bracket 67. Similar angle brackets 63 and 64 attached to the housing of side trimmer 16 support bracket 66. Bolts 65 are threaded into the extending portions of angle brackets 61 and 63 and have their ends bearing against the lower sides of brackets 66 and 67. Bolts 68 extend through holes in angle brackets 62 and 64 and are threaded into tapped holes in brackets 66 and 67. Bracket 67 has slots 69 which accommodate studs 70 projecting from the housing of side trimmer 17 and serve to maintain bracket 67 in alignment with side trimmer 17 Bracket 66 is similarly engaged with side trimmer 16. Two pins 71 and 72 are affixed to and project upwardly from bracket 66. Lower guide support member 73 rests upon bracket 66 and has two holes which match pins 71 and 72. When lower guide support member 73 is in position, the pins will be projecting into the holes and lower guide support member- 73 will be resting upon the upper surface of bracket 66. In like manner, lower guide support member 74 is supported from bracket 67. Extensions 75 and 76 are attached to lower guide support members 73 and 74, respectively, and are slotted to form tracks 75a and 76a. A lower central guide member 77 is supported fromextensions 75 and 76. It has a bronze wear strip 78 which rides in track 75a of extension 75 and has a similar wear strip riding in track 76a. An abutment 79 welded to the lower side of central guide member 77 extends under extensions 75 and 76 and retains central guide member 77 in position on tracks 75a and 76a. Theupper surfaces of lower guide support members are faced with brass liners 80 and 81, respectively. In. like manner, the lower central guide member 77 is faced on its upper surface with a brass liner 82 having a downturnededge 83 in position to meet the advancing strip. The brass liner on the guide support members and the central guide memrelief valve setting, the excess pressure will be relieved and excess oil will pass through heat exchanger 101 and pipe 102 to reservoir 99. Cooling water for the heat exchanger is supplied through pipes 103. Oil supplied by the pump which does not bypass in this manner from the relief valve is delivered through a gate valve 104 and an oil filter 105 to regulator 96. A gauge 106 connected to the line through a gate valve 107 indicates the pressure of the oil being supplied to the regulator. Regulator 96 controls the flow of oil into pipes 108 and 109m accordance with the amount of air being piped to the regulator from pipe 94. As it applies the oil under pressure to pipe 108 or 109, it will at the same time allow oil in the other pipe to bleed through the regulator to reservoir 99. When the amount of air being received in pipe 94 is'below a predetermined figure, the regulator will admit oil under pressure to pipe 108 causing piston rod 14'to be retracted into piston 13. At the same time oil will bleed from pipe 109 through the regulator to reservoir 99. When the predetermined amount of air is being received in pipe 94, thenregulator 96 will block the supply to pipes 108 and 109 to retain piston rod 14 in fixed position. If more than the predetermined amount of air is being received in pipe 94, regulator 96 will admit oil to pipe 109 and bleed oil from pipe 108 causingvpiston rod 14 to extend from piston 13. .The amount of air in pipe 94 at which the regulator willhold piston 14 fixed may be varied by appropriate adjustment of the regulator.

In preparing for operation the distance between the knives of side trimmers 16 and 17 is adjusted by use of motor 29 to deliver trimmed strip having the precise width desired. Motor 29 is energized to drive shaft 21 in one direction or the other. Since screws 25 and 26 have reverse threads, rotation of shaft 21 will cause side trimmers 16 and 17 to move simultaneously, toward or away from the central axis along which strip passes. When side trimmers 16 and 17 are adjusted toward one another the triangular-shaped upper and lower central guide mem-. bers 56 and 77, respectively, will be moved in a direction counter to the direction of travel of the strip or away from the apex of tracks 53a and 55a, and tracks 75a and 76a. Conversely, when side trimmers '16 and 17 are moved away from one another, the central guide members willmove toward the apex of extensions 53 and 55 bers provide a surface against which strip passing between v the side trimmers will rub. Being relatively soft, the liners will prevent scratching of the strip as it passes.

Referring now to Figure 2 in which the control system is. shown diagrammatically, compressed air is supplied through pipe 84 from some convenient source. It passes through a gate valve 85, an air filter 86, a pressure reduc-.

ing valve 87 and a pressure regmlating valve.88. The cleaned air then passes at reduced and regulated pressure through pipe 89 and flexible hose 90 to a pipe91 mounted on side trimmer 16 by bracket 91a. The air flowing through pipe 91 flows through an orifice in plate 92toward plate 93 (Figure 1). An orifice in plate 93 is gen,- erally opposite to the orifice in plate 92 and connects to pipe 94 which is connected through flexible hose 95 to a regulator 96. Pump 97 driven by a motor 98 draws oil from a reservoir 99 and delivers it to relief valve 100.

When the pressure delivered by the pump exceeds the,

and extensions 75 and 76.- Conveniently, central guide members of several widths may be provided to permlt extreme lateral adjustment of the side trimmers.

After the preliminary adjustment ofthe side trimmers has been made, the line is threaded as shownin Figure 11 and started. As the line is started, motor 39 is energized. This will drive the side trimmer knives 32, 33,- 34 and 35 and will cut a narrow edge from each side of the strip. The scrap will pass into scrap chute 6 while thev trimmed strip proceeds into treatment tank 4 for processing. As the line is run, strip is fed into the line from a coil. Additional coils aredelivered to the entry end where they are welded end to end to produce a continuous flow of strip through the line. i

As the strip moves between the side trimmers, it passes below the upper guide assembly (Figures 4 and 5) and above the lower guide assembly (Figures 6 and 7). It will thus be confined in a zone which is defined top and bottom by the upper and lower guide assemblies. It will be observed that the position of the upper and lower guide assemblies may be readily adjusted by turning bolts 44, 65 and 68. In this manner, the strip passage zone may be made as thin as desired. As the knives wear, their diameter'will bereduced, and one set of knives will be adjusted to ensure that the pairs continue to match,

consequently the pass line of the strip will gradually,

As the Strip moves above carriage 8 and toward the' sidetrimmers, it will pass between platesand. '93;

If the strip completely obstructs the flow of air from the nozzle on the end of pipe 91 across the gap between the plates and into pipe 94, regulator 96 will cause hydraulic pressure to be supplied to pipe 108. This will cause piston rod 14 to retract into piston 13 until the air supplied through pipe 91 is only partially blocked from flowing across the gap between plates 92 and 93 into pipe 94. Should the camber of the strip cause it to track generally away from plates 92 and 93, an even greater amount of air from pipe 91 will be received in pipe 94. This will cause regulator 96 to supply oil under pressure to pipe 109 causing piston rod 14 to extend from piston 13. In this manner, the position of carriage 8 and of the side trimmers mounted upon it may be precisely maintained with respect to the edge of the strip. At any time when the amount of air reaching the regulator from pipe 94 is above or below the predetermined amount, regulator 96 will cause carriage 8 to shift laterally until the edge of the strip is in proper lateral relation to plates 92 and 93. Notwithstanding that the strip may track from side to side because of camber or other irregularities in the strip, carriage 8 will be shifted to reinstate proper lateral relationship between the stripand the side trimmer knives which will thus be maintained in precise relationship to the edges of the strip. The upper and lower guide assemblies confine the strip from moving beyond the zone which they define. By appropriate adjustment of bolts 44, 6S and 68, the thickness of the zone may be varied as desired. Thus, the strip is restrained from possible movement from the pass line or buckling due to a sudden lateral shift of carriage 8 or to some irregularity in the strip itself.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that have invented new and useful means for strip trimming. It will be observed that by use of my invention I am able to avoid the use of a slack or free-hanging loop in the strip ahead of the side trimmers. Consequently, I am able to avoid the use of bridles or pinch rolls necessary to produce a slack loop and to reduce. the length of the processing line. This in turn will save equipment costs and will reduce the length of the building needed to house the treatment line with a further saving in cost.

While I have illustrated and described a present preferred embodiment of my invention, it will he understood that I do not so limit myself and that my invention may be otherwise variously practiced within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for continuously cutting the edges of moving metal strip comprising a base, a carriage slidably mounted thereon for movement transversely of the direction of movement of the strip, a pair of opposed cutters, each of said cutters having a plurality of strip cutting knives mounted'thereon, means mounted on said carriage to cause simultaneous movement of said cutters toward or away from a strip passage zone therebetween, power means connected to the base and to the carriage to cause transverse reciprocating movement of the carriage, strip edge position sensing means, and control means to control said power means according to the strip edge position as determined by said sensing means.

2. Apparatus for continuously cutting the edges of moving metal strip comprising a base, a carriage slidably mounted thereon for movement transversely of the direction of movement of the strip, a pair of opposed cutters, each of said cutters having two rotary strip cutting knives mounted thereon, means mounted on said carriage to cause simultaneous movement of said cutters toward or away from a strip passage zone .therebetween, power means connected to the base and to the carriage to cause transverse reciprocating movement of the carriage, said power means comprising a direct acting fluid-powered piston, strip edge position sensing means mounted on the carriage, and control means to control said power means mounted thereon for movement according to the strip edge position as determined by said sensing means.

3. Apparatus for continuously cutting the edges of moving metal strip comprising a base, a carriage slidably transversely of the direction of movement of the strip, a pair of opposed cutters, each of said cutters having two rotary strip cutting knives mounted thereon, means mounted on said carriage to.

cause simultaneous movement of said cutters toward or away from the axis of strip travel, cutter drive means comprising a rotatable member mounted on the carriage, the cutters being slidable therealong, rotation of said drive means causing rotation of said knives, direct acting power means connecting the base and the carriage, control means controlling said power means, and strip edge position detecting means to determine the edge position of the strip and adjacent the cutters and cause the control means to operate the power means according to such determination.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said apparatus lies intermediate a first strip handling point which the strip passes ,in approaching said apparatus and a second strip handling point to which the strip passes from said apparatus, the strip being maintained in tension between said strip handling points and while being cut by said apparatus.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein a pair of A. strip handling means are placed one on each side of said apparatus, the strip being maintained in tension and passing at a substantial constant speed from one of said strip taining the strip in tension between said points, continuously cutting the edges of the tensioned strip to the fixed width, continuously measuring the relative lateral positions of the uncut strip and the cutting means, controlling the lateral position of the cutting means, and simultaneously shifting the lateral position of the cutting means as a unit and in the same direction responsive to the measurement to maintain the cutting means in fixed lateral relationship with the strip during side to side movement of the strip.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 557,815 Hemphill Apr. 7, 1896 939,897 Doman Nov. 9, 1909 1,133,297 Lewis Mar. 30, 1915 1,153,843 Greene Sept. 14, 1915 1,293,484 Ley 'Feb. 4, 1919 1,333,588 Lewis Mar. 9, 1920 1,379,597 Trogner May'24, 1921 2,014,248 Evans Sept. 10, 1935 2,088,473 Gulliksen L July 27, 1937 2,114,716 Kunzle Apr. 19, 1938 2,666,639 Frommer Jan. 19, 1954 2,672,198 Jones Mar. 16, 1954 2,675,437 Theobald Apr. 13, 1954 2,687,885 Kroth Aug. 31, 1954 2,709,588 Staege May 31, 1955 2,710,062 Lanstrom June 7, 1955 2,713,903 Smith July 26, 1955 2,726,858 Chergie Dec. 13, 1955 2,747,666 Brooks May 29, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 371,794- Great Britain Apr. 28, 1932 

